Schwerin and the two surrounding districts form the eastern outskirts of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.

As main residence of the House of Mecklenburg, a dynasty with Slavic roots also known as the Obotrites or Niklotides, Schwerin was the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1379 to 1815, of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (after the duke was elevated to the title of a grand duke) from 1815 to 1918, of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1918 to 1934, of the State of Mecklenburg (after it was merged with the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) from 1934 to 1952, and of the District of Schwerin from 1952 to 1990.

In the middle part of these lakes there was a settlement of the Slavic Obotrite (dated back to the 11th century).

It is supposedly haunted by the small, impious ghost, called Petermännchen ("Peterman").

[3] At the end of World War II, on 2 May 1945, Schwerin was taken by United States troops.

Schwerin was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Initially, it was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg which at that time included the western part of Pomerania (Vorpommern).

In the East German era, Schwerin was an industrial city known for its leather products.

After the German Reunification, Schwerin's population started to decline and fell below 100,000 in 2000, so that it lost its official status as a major city.

[8] Schwerin Hauptbahnhof (central station) is connected by rail to Berlin, Hamburg and Rostock.

The larger cities, such as Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, or Bremen, all have crime rates ranging from 14,000 to 16,000 total offenses committed per 100,000 people.

However, Schwerin is the only city where riding a bus (or tram) without a ticket and social security fraud is counted towards the crime rate, significantly boosting the numbers.